Helen Ochyra

“As a teenager I hated hiking but after my mum died in 2016, hiking became a means of keeping her close. It’s also the best way I know of connecting with nature, the ultimate restorer. I’ve tackled everything from heartache to grief with a romp in the British countryside.” When …

“I am eager for the darkness. It is, after all, what we have come for. My husband and I catch each other’s eyes across the plunge pool and grin at each other. We are thrilled to be back out here, in the middle of the Outback, waiting with butterflies in …

“Palma used to be a city with its doors closed. A decade or more ago, walking through the Old Town meant walking past palatial Renaissance homes that hid behind metal gates and wooden doors. Occasionally you might catch a glimpse over somebody’s shoulder as they retreated into their private courtyard …

“Platypuses are notoriously difficult to see in the wild – they’re shy, they steer well clear of humans and they look an awful lot like logs.” On my most recent trip to Australia I spent a week exploring Tasmania. This is the country’s only island state – and the one …

“Human intervention in the landscape is so often negative, but here on Lanzarote every house is as low-rise and as pale as a sugar cube, and the contrast between their white and nature’s black is what makes Lanzarote feel chic. Because monochrome is always chic.” Lanzagrotty? Hardly. Lanzarote is the …

“The windscreen is wall-to-wall blue, my bonnet pointing up so vertically it feels like the car could tip backwards at any moment and send me tumbling. I push my foot down harder on the accelerator and feel the lurch of the engine kicking in, propelling me upwards, seemingly into the …

“Thousands of people hurl tomatoes at each other in the madre of all food fights — expect to be covered head to toe in red pulp.” As a Spain specialist, every year I pick what I think are the 50 best holidays in the country for the Times. This year I’ve found …

“The land is all shades of spice, from cinnamon to paprika, saffron to cumin.” Tenerife gets a bad rap. Yes, if you hit the resorts you’ll find high-rise hotels and English breakfasts, but explore just a little further and you’ll encounter dramatic volcanic landscapes, ancient fishing villages and fresh fish …

“There is, I am learning, a sherry for all occasions.” Last month I visited the city of Jerez, the home of sherry. Before my visit I was convinced that I didn’t like sherry. But then I found myself trying it with everything from jamón ibérico to chocolate cake, and I …

“Just outside Doune, Argaty Red Kites has daily feeding sessions. The resident population was reintroduced here in 1996 and puts on quite a display.” Stirling is one of Scotland’s unsung cities. And yet it has played a major role in everything from nation-defining battles to Monty Python sketches. I visited …